Explore “Punjabiyat” through art work, performances, and activities at this cultural festival at Preet Nagar, an artists’ community founded for all Punjabis. Located between Lahore and Amritsar, just kilometers from the international boundary that divides the Punjab, the Preet Nagar MELA invites us to think differently about what is shared across that border, and about the local traditions and communities that make up our Punjabs today. The works of art on view in this special temporary public exhibition were developed at Preet Nagar through a series of artists’ residencies by artists from India, Mauritius, Canada, and students from Srishti Institute for Art, Design and Technology (Bangalore), through the Creative Interruptions project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council UK, with the additional support of the University of British Columbia, which explores how the contemporary arts can shape how we remember and represent the past.

Proposals from artists in visual arts discipline or film have been included in the Creative Interruptions Residency and Exhibition. Two sets of month-long cost-free artist residencies at Preet Nagar in partnership with University of British Columbia, Canada ; University of Strathclyde, Scotland and Arts & Humanities research council, UK.

TIME IS ALL YOU NEED

Want to get out of town and go spend some time on your own or on a collaborative project with a friend? We have just the right space in mind.Away from everything you are used to, being in a new place forces you to be alert and in the present. The best state to observe or create.

"It's two years since I was at Preetnagar in body, so my mind has had time to unpack the items from my experience destined to stay with me. There are many. I loved the building with its seemingly infinite number of doors and windows and its subtle nods at Art deco. I loved taking my food on a porch overlooking the fields of Punjab. I loved the warm welcome of our hosts and family, hospitality and talent with a true heart. I love the fact that I didn't think I had done much work while there, but that it has led to new ways of thinking about my practice. And I love the fact that there is an aching in me to go back."

"The fourth generation of Gurbaksh Singh ‘Preet Lari’s family refurbishing old houses in the township from the 1930’s to recreate the vision of their forefather, and to provide a sense of community living. " Homegrown